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Overview

Food, glorious food

There is nothing tourists enjoy more than sampling the local
cuisine. Spare a thought then for the players taking part in the
FIFA Women's World Cup China 2007. For them the gourmet
pleasures of the Far East are strictly off limits.

As everyone knows, to maintain performance levels on the pitch
footballers need to keep a very close eye on what they eat away
from it. Drastic changes in diet are not recommended, which is why
most of the players on duty at China 2007 are unable to dip into
the vast array of delightful dishes that Asia's biggest country
has to offer.

The USA squad took no risks with their dietary intake,
forwarding specially drawn up menus to the hotels where they would
be staying months in advance of their arrival in China. England
have their own chef with them to supervise everything that goes on
in the kitchens, and not to be outdone, world champions Germany
have a trusted Chinese chef monitoring what goes on their plates.

The holders came across their culinary overseer when they
travelled to China at the start of the year for the Four Nations
Tournament. And by a strange quirk of coincidence his usual line of
work is knocking out traditional specialities in German restaurants
here, so there should be no danger of Prinz, Lingor and Co feeling
homesick when they sit down for dinner.

For their part, the Brazil squad seem a little reluctant to try
out some of the local delicacies on offer. "They eat
everything here - snakes, turtles, frogs," said FIFA
Women's World Player Marta a little uneasily. It is a feeling
obviously shared by her team-mates, who have told team officials
that such exotic delights are definitely off the menu. "The
hotel staff are going to every length to make sure everything is
just right here," explained Brazil coach Jorge Barcellos.
"The food is different, but we're getting used to
it."

Like their South American rivals, Argentina have been unwilling
to experiment too much, restricting themselves to the various rice
dishes served in the hotel buffet. As for Denmark, they gave
themselves a little treat before their decisive clash with Brazil:
a team dinner at McDonald's.

Feeling at homeOne thing the teams are all agreed on is the superb service
they are receiving from the staff in their various hotels.
"The people of Chengdu have been so good to us," said USA
coach Greg Ryan. "I'm having a job getting used to the
spicy food though," he added, which perhaps explains why the
team packed numerous bags of cookies and jars of peanut butter, a
traditional American favourite and a source of vital proteins for
players not tempted by the local meat dishes.

Canada captain Christine Sinclair, meanwhile, said:
"I've heard from various people that we lucked out by
landing here in Hangzhou, and it's been a big bonus to end up
in a hotel with a Starbucks right next door! That could well be the
thing I'll miss most... Plus there's a Haagen Dazs cafe
there too.

"The food might have been a worry before we arrived but
it's actually been really good. We don't have a cook with
us but we do have a nutritionist who advises the hotel on what to
make, and they've been very good in cooking us North
American-type meals that all of us like and are used to. Obviously
we're going on to Chengdu now but hopefully the food will be
just as good. And if there's a Starbucks, that would be
perfect. "

The advent of globalisation has made sure the girls do not miss
their home comforts, and as the competition enters its decisive
phase the question of what they eat becomes even more important.
Even so, FIFA.com hopes they get the chance to sample at least some
of the delights Chinese cuisine has to offer before they finally
head for home.